Report of the Central Fact Finding Team’s visit to the Sardar Sarovar Project Submergence Areas in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, India on 9th – 10th May, 2015
This year marks 30 years of resilient struggle of the Narmada Bachao Andolan, which continues its battle to safeguard the lives and livelihoods of thousands of dalits, adivasis and other communities in the Narmada region, in the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
One of the first measures of the NDA government after coming to power in May 2014 was to raise the height of SSP by 17 mts to its final height of 138.68 metres. This is in direct violation of the Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal (NWDT) which disallows any further displacement before complete rehabilitation in the Narmada Valley.
The fact-finding report titled “Drowning a Valley – Destroying a Civilization” points to the grave implications of this move – set to unleash an unprecedented displacement on an estimated 2.5 lakh families in 245 villages in the 3 states. In its report, the six-member Central Fact Finding Committee has warned that raising the height of the Sardar Sarovar Dam on the Narmada river in Gujarat will be disastrous. Also, raising the height of the dam structure from 122 m to 139 m will lead to a bigger calamity than the Nepal earthquake. As per the Committee, the Government has-been unable to provide complete rehabilitation to the affected families as it has wrongly claimed in front of the Supreme Court. Read more here to know about the facts about the people of the Narmada valley and the attack on their land, forest and livelihood.
